Registration and Accommodation for San DiegoDear Colleagues: For those of you who have not already registered for the 2012 annual meeting please consider doing so soon to make sure that hotel rooms and access to some of the attendance-limited events are still available (see registration weblink). The program outline also is available through the link to the SGI webpage. We look forward to seeing you in San Diego, Calif., for what promises to be a truly outstanding meeting.

Speakers:
Professor John Challis: University professor emeritus, University of Toronto; adjunct professor, University of Western Australia; past president SGI.Professor Sir Peter Gluckman: Chief science adviser to the prime minister of New Zealand.Professor Mark A. Hanson: Director, Academic Unit of Human Development & Health; director, Institute of Developmental Sciences; professor of cardiovascular sciences, British Heart Foundation; faculty of medicine, University of Southhampton, United Kingdom.Professor Alan H. Jobe: Professor of Pediatrics/Neonatology, Cincinnati Childrens Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio.Professor Stephen Lye: Vice-chair, research and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Toronto; co-chair of the Centre for Women's and Infant's Health at Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto; president, SGI.Professor John Mattick: Executive director, Garvan Institute.Professor Leslie Myatt: Professor of obstetrics and gynecology, co-director Center for Pregnancy and Newborn Research, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio; past president, SGI.Professor Gordon C.S. Smith: Head of department, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Cambridge University, Cambridge, United Kingdom.

Gene mutation discovery sparks hope for effective endometriosis screeningMedical Xpress Share Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have, for the first time, described the genetic basis of endometriosis, a condition affecting millions of women that is marked by chronic pelvic pain and infertility. The researchers' discovery of a new gene mutation provides hope for new screening methods. Published in the online issue of EMBO Molecular Medicine, the study explored an inherited mutation located in part of the KRAS gene, which leads to abnormal endometrial growth and endometrial risk.More

Research: Congenital heart defects more likely when mom is obese, a smokerInternational Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics Share Pregnant women who are overweight and smoke could be putting the development of their child's heart at risk, maternal and newborn health research has shown. A study published in the journal Heart showed congenital abnormalities in this muscle are more likely in infants if their mum is overweight and a tobacco user, rather than featuring just one of these factors. Scientists analyzed data on 800 children and fetuses born with heart defects but without problems in any other part of the body.More

Pfizer's breast cancer drug worsens bone loss in older womenBloomberg Businessweek Share Pfizer Inc.'s breast cancer drug Aromasin worsened bone loss in post-menopausal women, raising the chance of fractures and calling into question whether the pill's prevention benefits outweigh its risks. In a trial among 351 women at risk of developing breast cancer, those who received Aromasin lost about three times more bone-mineral density after two years than those who took a placebo, researchers led by Angela Cheung at Toronto's University Health Network wrote in The Lancet Oncology.More

Laparoscopy acceptable for staging uterine cancerDoctors Lounge Share Comprehensive surgical staging of endometrial cancer can be performed laparoscopically with relatively small differences in recurrence rates compared to laparotomy, according to a study published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. "The potential for increased risk of cancer recurrence with laparoscopy versus laparotomy was quantified and found to be small, providing accurate information for decision making for women with uterine cancer," wrote the authors, led by Dr. Joan L. Walker of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City. More

New pill credited with helping vanquish uterine fibroidsAmerican Council on Science and Health Share The first pill to treat uterine fibroids, a common problem in pre-menopausal women, has performed well in two European clinical studies. Esmya, which is a low-dose version of the emergency birth control pill called Ella, is awaiting market approval in Europe and must still be tested in the U.S. However, this latest research suggests that there may finally be a satisfactory nonsurgical treatment for this painful condition that can cause heavy bleeding, fertility problems, and is the leading cause of hysterectomies. Two separate studies, both published in the New England Journal of Medicine, each used different methods to test the efficacy of the new drug.More

News from Reproductive Sciences

Ceftriaxone preconditioning confers neuroprotection in neonatal rats through glutamate transporter 1 upregulationReproductive Sciences, December 2011The authors said that the objective was to investigate the hypothesis that ceftriaxone preconditioning ameliorates brain damage in neonatal animals through glutamate transporter 1 upregulation. In the study, Sprague Dawley rats were pretreated with ceftriaxone, erythromycin, minocycline, or saline for five consecutive days starting from postnatal day 2, and GLT-1/glutamate-aspartate transporter messenger RNA and protein levels were examined in the P7 brains. MORE.

Some middle-aged women more vulnerable to STDsPsych Central News Share A new study suggests normal physiological changes associated with middle age and changes in sexual behavior can place some women at higher risk of contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Researcher Dr. Christopher Coleman, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, said women tend to let their guard down with new sexual partners and avoid using protection since they are unafraid of getting pregnant. His study looked at newly divorced middle-aged women. Additionally, as aging occurs, physiological changes due to menopause such as the thinning of vaginal walls make women more susceptible to contracting a virus.More

New blood test reveals fetus' gender 5 weeks after conceptionThe Daily Mail Share A pioneering blood test that could allow pregnant women know the sex of their unborn child as early as 5 weeks has been developed. A team led by Dr. Hyun Mee Ryu at Cheil General Hospital in Seoul, South Korea, found that various ratios of two enzymes which can be extracted from a pregnant mother's blood indicate the baby's gender as early as 5 or 6 weeks. "Although more work must be done before such a test is widely available, this paper does show it is possible to predict the sex of a child as early as the first few weeks after conception," said Dr Gerald Weissmann, editor-in-chief of the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, which published the study.More

Study: Pregnant women over 50 'do pretty well'MyHealthNewsDaily via LiveScience Share The average age of women becoming mothers has risen in the United States, and in the past 20 years, a few women have even entered motherhood in their 60s. By implanting embryos produced by in vitro fertilization using egg cells donated by younger women, women who have passed menopause can become pregnant and give birth. A new study of 101 women ages 50 and older who had children using donated eggs reveals that pregnancy at this age carries about the same risks as similarly induced pregnancies in younger women.More

Scientists want kids with 3 parents to help eradicate genetic diseaseNewsCore via Fox News Share Scientists want to create designer babies with the DNA of three parents to prevent children inheriting life-threatening diseases. In vitro fertilization specialists argue they could eradicate mitochondrial mutations — which can cause multi-organ failure and fatal heart, liver and muscle conditions — by removing defective genes and replacing them with healthy DNA from a donor. The procedure, described by scientific opponents as "fraught with danger," would ensure women with the severe genetic condition do not pass it on to their children.More